1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tire conveyor that sends a tire to a tire testing machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a tire attached to an automobile or the like includes a portion having a non-uniform elastic modulus, a non-uniform dimension, or a non-uniform shape in the circumferential direction, the portion causes a vibration during the high-speed rotation of the tire, and hence degrades the running performance thereof. For this reason, the tire is subjected to a uniformity test in the circumferential direction by a tire testing machine after the tire is made by vulcanizing. Specifically, the tire testing machine fits a bead portion of the inner periphery of the tire into a rim member, attaches the tire to a rotating spindle, applies a predetermined pressure to the tire, rotationally drives a road surface substitution member such as a drum while the outer periphery of the tire is pressed against the road surface substitution member, and then performs a test. In general, a lubricant (lubrication solution) is applied to the tire in order to smoothly fit the bead portion of the test tire into the rim member.
As such a tire testing machine, there is known a tire testing machine that sends a test tire to a center position (rotary shaft) of a spindle through a tire conveyor. Then, there is known a tire testing machine equipped with a lubricator that applies a lubricant to a bead portion of an inner periphery of a tire on a tire conveyor until a test tire is sent to a center position of a spindle (for example, see JP 2012-220319 A). Like the disclosures, the spindle of the tire testing machine is disposed in the vertical direction, the tire is conveyed in a reclined state, and the reclined tire is sent to the center position of the spindle by the conveyor. Furthermore, there is also known a tire testing machine in which a spindle is disposed in the horizontal direction and a tire is attached to the spindle in a standing state.
Further, in the tire conveyor disclosed in JP 2012-220319 A, a roller portion and an arm member are provided in parallel at a position distant from the center of the spindle of the tire testing machine by a predetermined distance. Then, when the tire is conveyed to the position, a conveying surface of the conveyor is caused to descend in relation to the roller portion, the tire is rotated within the horizontal plane by the arm member while the tire is transferred to the roller portion, and a lubricant is applied to a bead portion of the inner periphery of the tire. Subsequently, the conveying surface of the conveyor is caused to ascend in relation to the roller portion, the tire is conveyed by a predetermined distance while the tire is transferred to the conveyor, and the tire is sent to the center position of the spindle of the tire testing machine.